IRC servers are not known for their ease of use. Aside from the popular WircSrv server and the competing ChatSpace server, only ConferenceRoom stands out for its surprisingly simple installation, configuration, and administration. After installing ConferenceRoom all you need to do is run the program and you're immediately ready to accept client connections. Configuration can be completed by stepping through ConferenceRoom's menu and dialog screens which allow you to modify the server and network information, choose a Web-based interface theme, authorize operators, restrict access to certain users, allow client-side channel creation, implement security features, and so on.

If you need extra help, ConferenceRoom provides extensive documentation that explains the use of each menu option as well as common IRC commands via the integrated Web-based manual. The online Web support site also offers access to the user manual. Additional support options from the Web site include an IRC discussion forum accessible from the Web or any standard IRC client, an e-mail support address, and a telephone number for support. ConferenceRoom offers 30-day telephone and 90-day e-mail support for registered users. Users of the evaluation release can access the e-mail support option for help in getting up and running with the server.
IRC servers are not known for their ease of use. Aside from the popular WircSrv server and the competing ChatSpace server, only ConferenceRoom stands out for its surprisingly simple installation, configuration, and administration. After installing ConferenceRoom all you need to do is run the program and you're immediately ready to accept client connections. Configuration can be completed by stepping through ConferenceRoom's menu and dialog screens which allow you to modify the server and network information, choose a Web-based interface theme, authorize operators, restrict access to certain users, allow client-side channel creation, implement security features, and so on.

The best of ConferenceRoom's many selling points is that it allows you to add real-time chat capabilities to your existing Web pages. In turn your users can talk with others using either a Java-enabled Web browser or any standard IRC client like Visual IRC, mIRC, OrbitIRC, or PIRCH. While your users will need one of the above two types of clients to access your ConferenceRoom-enabled Web site, they can use any hardware platform or operating system to access the site. The server itself is currently limited to Windows 95/NT platforms, but Web and IRC clients of any and all operating system work with ConferenceRoom.

ConferenceRoom features include open standards compliance (with full support for RFC 1459 and complete IRCD v2.8.21 compatibility), a variety of built-in themes (which allow you to set the look and feel of the conferencing interface for your users), tools for creating your own themes, easy dynamic and registered channel creation capabilities, private and 'party-line' chat functionality, registered nickname services (Nickserv), multiport support for allowing multiple ports to be used for connections, and the ability to link with other ConferenceRoom servers to create larger chat networks. The server also offers advanced security features like client class filters, automatic kill capabilities (Klines), flood protection capabilities, and Nospoof protection against spoofing attacks.

The server is offered in a variety of packages, giving businesses of all sizes the ability to add the ConferenceRoom technology to their Web sites. The low-end Personal Edition is a single server configuration that supports up to 100 and is priced at $99. This edition lacks channel management and server-to-server functionality. The mid-range to high-end Professional Edition includes a nickname server and offers support for up to 1,000 users, server-to-server networking, and channel management, all for $495. A Developer Edition is also available that bundles the Java client source code with the Professional Edition for $995. The $3,995 ultra high-end Enterprise Edition supports up to 10,000 users and includes an event server, nickname server, intra-server functionality, and the Java client source code.

While ChatSpace compares favorably with ConferenceRoom, it does lack some of ConferenceRoom's newer features (most notably the Web-based administration tool, Zlines support, silence command, winsock2 support, and the status monitor) and its customizable client interface options. Aside from ChatSpace no other chat server currently available offers support for real-time, interactive chat and conferencing capabilities from within a Web page. With ease of use, performance, scalability, reliability, and an extensive feature-set all in its favor, ConferenceRoom stands far above other chat servers.

New in v1.8: Enterprise Edition  No chanops when a client first enters a channel, front-end source for user authentication, and event Moderation Control System; Developer Edition  Set/Get system allows users to customize the information that is tied to a user in the server; Both Versions  Changes made to chennel modes, time stamps, user mode options, and security;
Release NotesUpgrade Meter:3 - (this update is only for the Unix version; an update for the Windows version is expected to follow soon)

New in v1.8.1:
New native hooks;
better server-to-server support for SAJOIN;
support for selecting the outbound IP for server-to-server connections;
+N propogation bug fix;
Master/Slave propogation enhancements and bug fixes;
HTML client enhancements;
Java-only detection/security improved;
oper config flag "h" works correctly;
support for server-to-server configurations with different user name lengths;
bug fixes in open proxy detection;
%!?variable% to check for true/false/yes/no values;
support for %httpproto% replacement variable;
Release NotesUpgrade Meter:3